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Interactive Atlas

UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger

The online edition of the Atlas is complementary to the print edition It does not reproduce the regional and thematic chapters of the print version, but it offers additional information on the listed endangered languages. Via this interface, you can browse through them, using combinations of search criteria and/or zooming in the map below (see Browsing functionnalities ). For more detailed information, please consult the Languages mapping , Contribute your comments and FAQ pages.


For remarks on a specific language, please use the in-built forms ('submit a comment' tab) of the Interactive Atlas. If you wish to suggest an endangered language to be included in the Atlas, please fill in this form.

For more general comments, please email atlas_AT_unesco.org.


Search tools

vulnerable
definitely endangered
severely endangered
critically endangered
extinct
more on vitality
Number of languages found : 2464

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this Atlas do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


The interactive online edition of the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger is complementary to the print edition and may be cited as:


Search by country name.

Select the name of the country in the dropdown menu and click on “search corresponding endangered languages”.

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

Note that the number in brackets that appears next to the name of the country (e.g. Indonesia (147)) corresponds to the number of languages listed for that country and not to the number of geographical points (for more information on the mapping methodology, see Language mapping in the Atlas.)

Select one of the 5 degrees of vitality which are explained in the link “more on vitality” placed above the map.

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

Type the name of the language into the search field and click “search corresponding endangered languages”.

Users may also type only a part of the name and the dropdown menu will provide a list of predictions that are similar to the query typed. Add a sentence on the possibility to search for variants/alternative names.

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

To search by ISO 639-3 language code, the user may enter the ISO which consists of three letters or more codes separated by ', ' e.g. rpo, col, tra, aal.

Note that the dropdown will provide predictions of ISO codes, containing one or more letters of the query typed.

For instance, if users type ‘ho’ into the search field, the dropdown menu will offer options such as ‘aho’, ‘cho’, ‘gho’. For more information on ISO codes please visit:

http://www.ethnologue.com/codes

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

To search an endangered language by its number of speakers, users can type numbers between 0 and infinite into the search field.

For instance, if the number “50” is typed into the search box “from”, the search result will display the languages which have 50 or more speakers.

Note that the parameters “to” and “from” must be used separately.

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

To search an endangered language by its number of speakers, users can type numbers between 0 and infinite into the search field.

For instance, if the number “90” is typed into the search box “to”, the search result will display the languages which have 90 or less speakers.

Note that the parameters “to” and “from” must be used separately.

This search field can be used together with other search parameters. Search results will be displayed on the map.

Degrees of endangerment

The present edition designates the degrees of endangerment a little differently than the previous editions. The new terminology is based on UNESCO’s Language Vitality and Endangerment framework that establishes six degrees of vitality/endangerment based on nine factors. Of these factors, the most salient is that of intergenerational transmission.


Degree of endangerment Intergenerational Language Transmission
safe language is spoken by all generations; intergenerational transmission is uninterrupted
>> not included in the Atlas
vulnerable vulnerable most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)
definitely endangered definitely endangered children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home
severely endangered severely endangered language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves
critically endangered critically endangered the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently
extinct extinct there are no speakers left
>> included in the Atlas if presumably extinct since the 1950s